


Young Soul

by WildMagic



Series: The Soul [7]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Age Difference, Alpha Greg, Alpha Liam, Alpha Zayn, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe - Student/Teacher, Aunt Cara, Foster homes, Head Teacher Mark, Jealous Zayn, M/M, Omega Harry, Omega Louis, Omega Niall, Possessive Behavior, Protective Zayn, Student Harry, Student Louis, Student Niall, Teacher Liam, Teacher Zayn, Teacher-Student Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-17
Updated: 2016-11-27
Packaged: 2018-03-13 12:09:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3381002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WildMagic/pseuds/WildMagic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><em>“Welcome back everyone! Hope your rearing to go for your last year!” Mark addressed the room. He got a couple of mumbles in reply, and then turned to Zayn. “Mr Malik, may I introduce you to Niall Horan. Niall, this is Mr Malik, he’ll be your tutor during your year with us, here.”</em><br/><em>Blue eyes met brown ones and nothing in the world mattered apart from the two of them.</em><br/>Niall is a new student at Thornton Academy. He just wants to have a normal last year of school and move on from education. However, he hits a little snag on the first day - his personal tutor, Mr Malik, just so happens to be his true mate.<br/>Zayn tries to hold back the mating until Niall finishes school, but it's not too easy when Niall is teasingly beautiful and right under his nose.</p><p>(PART OF A SERIES! CAN BE READ SEPARATELY! STORIES ARE NOT CONNECTED!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zayn meets his true mate on the first day back at school!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back from my weekend away guys!! and good news!! I've got all my work done!! So hopefully, I can update a story once a day for a couple of days!!  
> I hope you like this one!! I've never even read Teacher/Student before, let alone write it! - so this is a COMPLETELY new experience for me!!
> 
> Hope you like Teacher Zayn (I know I do!) and Sassy Louis!! (There will be more or that where it comes from, don't you worry)  
> I'm a little nervous of this story... so, let me know what you think?  
> Feedback is appreciated!!  
> xxRiverMagicxx

**Chapter 1**

Zayn didn’t know what was worse; walking back into his classroom after the weekend, or walking back into his classroom after the summer holidays. It was a struggle to get out of bed on the best of days, but the first morning back after 6 weeks off was always the worst.

Zayn was a teacher at Thornton Academy, a secondary school and Sixth Form College for Omega’s aged 11-18. Zayn was the tutor of a group of 17-18 year old students who were in their final year of sixth form. Zayn had only been their tutor since they were in year 11 because he’d only joined the school 3 years ago.

Zayn taught Art, and was a well-respected teacher – he often heard the kids calling him ‘cool’ and ‘hot’ (but that was only to be expected; he was young, and an Alpha teaching Art in an Omega only school). He enjoyed his job, but sometimes he felt the stress of it and wondered why he had never listened to his mother and went into architecture. But there were other times when he was glad that he had perused his dream of teaching.

It was as he was unpacking his briefcase, setting out his art supplies on his plain desk, when there was a knock on the door.

“Good morning Zayn.”

“Morning Mark,” Zayn smiled at the Alpha head teacher stood in the doorway. He turned back to his desk to lay his paint set down before brushing his hands together and turning fully to his boss. “Good summer?”

“Yeah thanks – Took Lou and the girls on a well-deserved holiday,” Mark stepped further into the room.

“Anywhere nice?”

“Only over to Paris – the girls loved Disney Land, and while Louis won’t admit it, I think he enjoyed it more than them. Probably won’t tell you where he’s been if you ask,” Mark chuckled.

“Yeah, that kid is all about reputation, eh?” Zayn chuckled, sitting down.

“How was your summer?” Mark perched himself on the edge of the desk.

“Honestly?” Zayn laughed. “I spent most of my time watching Netflix!”

“Yes; I’ve heard of this Netflix… Louis’ just getting into it – been dragged in by Lottie.”

“Yeah, I should get out more – find my mate… that or get myself an Omega.”

“You’re still young – got plenty of time yet!”

The two continued to create small talk about their lives outside of work for a couple more minutes, before Mark got straight to the point.

“Anyway, I stopped by to let you know – there’s a Niall Horan, new kid, starting this morning.”

“Year?” Zayn moved around in his seat to reach for the list of all of his class registers.

“13.”

“Final year? Bloody hell, that’s almost unheard of!” Zayn exclaimed. “You sure?”

“Yep – kids almost 18. His brother is well off though; the only reason the school board considered accepting his application. And you Sir,” Mark nodded his head at Zayn. “Have been given the job of being the kids tutor.”

“Great,” Zayn sighed sarcastically. “Love new students, me.”

____

As soon as the bell went, Zayn could hear the loud chatter of his tutor group waiting to be invited inside.

Zayn let them stand outside, waiting for a couple of minutes. When he was sure that a good portion of the class was there, he got up to open the door.

As soon as the door fell open, the group quietened down the post-summer chats, as they began to notice the arrival of their tutor. He waited in the doorframe until they’d all fallen silent and moved to stand in a line against the wall (they obviously hadn’t forgotten what Zayn expected from them, over the summer).

“Good morning,” Zayn called out to the students. “I hope you all enjoyed your summer break. There is a seating plan this year, because some of you,” He raised his eyebrows at two lads stood in the middle of the line. “Don’t seem to concentrate when you sit where you like.” He silenced the giggling duo with a look. “On the desks are you Year 13 start of year, welcome packs. Find the one with your name on it and sit down in that seat. Get accustomed with it and those around you – it’s where you will be sitting for the rest of the year.”

He moved aside and allowed the students to trickle into the classroom, one by one. As the duo, from the middle of the line, passed him, Zayn stopped the line by holding his arm out in front of the taller boy.

“You’re at the front Harry,” He spoke to the first, taller boy. “And Louis?” He turned to the one behind him. “The back.”

He removed his arm, to allow them access to the classroom again. He smiled and shook his head as he heard the two grumbling about it not being fair.

Once everyone was in the classroom, Zayn followed behind, shutting the door after him. First day back meant that they had up until break with the tutor group; plenty of time to get re-accustomed with each other and their tutor.

Zayn sat himself back down behind his desk and waited until everyone had found their welcome packs and had sat down. He waited until they were silent again, before standing and moving round to the front of his desk. He leant against it, crossing his feet. He scanned the room, not recognising any new face and realised that the new kid, Niall, obviously hadn’t arrived yet.

“This is it guys,” Zayn called out to them. “Last year of school – university on the horizon. We have to make this year count!”

He got a couple of cheers of agreement from a few of the students and he thumped the air with his fist in agreement.

“You fuck up this year guys – and that’s it; you’re goners,” He got a couple of chuckles at his swearing, but the class was rather used to it by now. “But don’t worry – I’m here to make sure you guys stay on track – and that is just what I’ll do… no one in this room is going to ‘fuck it up’ for themselves this year.”

“You can fuck me up, Sir!” A voice near the back of the room called out cheekily, making the whole room start giggling.

“Is that so Louis?” Zayn asked, fighting not to crack a smile. He was 25, only 8 years older than the Omegas sat before him. It wasn’t much really, he knew that there were mates out there that had a larger age-gap. Unluckily for Louis, Zayn wasn’t interested in dating, or mating with any of his students. “I bet your father would love to hear that.”

“Burn!” Harry called out from the front of the class, turning to smirk at his best friend. Louis was scowling as he lifted his middle finger in Harry’s direction.

“Okay, alright!” Zayn called, calling the class before him to silence once more. “I will not be getting in your pants Louis Tomlinson – and you can put that on record!”

“You sure about that Sir?”

“Yes,” Zayn nodded. “I’m also sure that you enjoyed your little trip to Disney Land this summer, eh?”

Louis’ eyes grew wide and he was quick to rest his head on the table, hiding behind his arms. But unlike Louis expected, the class did not burst out laughing. Instead they started chatting about their own trips (some who hadn’t been spoke with jealously).

Louis’ head popped up.

“Thanks a bunch Mr Malik, you just ruined my reputation! I think I’m going to have to break up with you.”

“Works for me,” Zayn clapped his hands together and resumed his professional talk. “I’ll be arranging a one-to-one with each of you to talk about your future. Don’t forget that University applications have to be by the 15th January. Yes, I know – that seems years away – but it is only 5 months away. You really need…” He stopped and took a deep inhale.

He was overcome with the scent of something sweet, like melted chocolate or marshmallows – he couldn’t decide if it was either, or both; but whatever it was, it was intoxicating. He could feel a stirring in the pit of his stomach and, while he had never felt anything like it before, he knew that the scent was his mate.

“We really need to what?” A student called out impatiently.

“You really need to…” Zayn tried to wade his way through the fog that surrounded him, but found it difficult. “You really need to… to… think about…”

This time, he was stopped by a knock at the door. Everyone’s heads turned to the door, and Zayn paled as the scent had gotten stronger.

“Come in,” Zayn called.

In walked Mark (no one noticed, but Louis ducked at the sight of his father) and behind him followed a blonde Omega. Zayn didn’t say anything in welcome, like he normally would – silenced by the Omega student he had never seen before.

“Welcome back everyone! Hope your rearing to go for your last year!” Mark addressed the room. He got a couple of mumbles in reply, and then turned to Zayn. “Mr Malik, may I introduce you to Niall Horan. Niall, this is Mr Malik, he’ll be your tutor during your year with us, here.”

Blue eyes met brown ones and noting in the world mattered apart from the two of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you like Teacher Zayn (I know I do!) and Sassy Louis!! (There will be more or that where it comes from, don't you worry)  
> I'm a little nervous of this story... so, let me know what you think?  
> Feedback is appreciated!!  
> xxRiverMagicxx


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zayn and Niall meet for the first time, without anyone else around them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay - I know that this chapter isn't brilliant!! But I've worked really hard on it and wanted to get something up for you guys!! It's been a few days since I updated, because I have a load of assignments to do!! I spent the whole day writing this, and I am rather pleased with the outcome; especially sine I have never read anything like this, let alone wrote it!!  
> Also - I got a tumblr!! Not entirely sure how to use it yet!! But it would be great if you could follow me!! Give me a shout and i'll follow you back - I am currently only following 2 blogs!!  
> http://rivermagic99.tumblr.com/

** Chapter 2 **

Niall’s tongue darted out to wet his suddenly dry lips and his hand reached up to instinctively brush his hair back. He could feel the slight pink warmth that he was sure was definitely on his face and he couldn’t help the wide, doe-eyed look that he was sending the older man.

He watched as the tanned man, who he could clearly identify as his mate, gulped. Niall watched as his Adams-apple bobbed, taking in the deep Alpha scent that would soon be his.

Not many people found their true mates these days – it was more of a pick and choose type of thing. Course, mating with anyone who wasn’t your true mate was destined to end in an un-mating; there were only 4 couples on record who were not true mates that had made it over 20 years together. But those few lucky couples who did find their true mates were mated for life – the way it always was supposed to be. Chances of having children were larger with your true mate and you were expected to live longer as well.

Niall had always dreamed of finding his true mate; hoping it would be some strapping young gentlemen around his age. Someone who could take care of him wholly, in all aspects of his life; he wanted someone who would be gentle and understanding, someone who would respect him and love him no matter what.

His mother and father had not been true mates and were split now; and both parents had tried to support Niall’s wish of finding his true mate, but constantly reminded him to not hold out much hope.

But, there he was – the man that Niall was meant to spend the rest of his life with – standing right in front of him. There he was; but whether he was all that Niall wished for was another matter.

His mate was his tutor; Mr Malik – Niall didn’t even know his first name – and Niall didn’t know what that meant for their relationship. They were mates, true mates! But it was school policy that you couldn’t have a relationship with a student.

Mr Malik coughed, regaining his casual posture from before.

“Hiya Niall,” The teacher smiled at the blonde. “Welcome to Thornton! You’ll love it here!”

At that news, Mr Tomlinson – the Head teacher that had brought Niall into the class after welcoming him to the school – left the room with a quick wave to everyone.

“Why don’t you take a seat,” Mr Malik’s eyes glazed over the room. “Ah, next to Louis, right at the back?”

Niall glanced to where Mr Malik was pointing, and sure enough there was only one spare seat, right at the back next to a cocky looking kid. Niall’s shoulders deflated as he realised how far back he really would be. This way he couldn’t observe every detail of his mate up close – he’d have to observe him from afar he guessed.

Niall looked at Mr Malik again and nodded once, his pink tongue darting out to wet his lips again. Mr Malik’s eyes fluttered shut for a second longer than was necessary and when they opened, he was able to watch the blonde Omega’s ass as he slowly made his way to the back.

When Niall was seated, Zayn turned to the rest of the class again.

“You know the drill! New student! You welcome them with the up most respect… and if I find out anyone is disrespecting Niall,” He struggled to keep his Alpha tone under wraps; it was against staff policy to use an Alpha Command over the students. However, his voice went dark and although no Alpha Command was used, none of the Omega’s in the room were even planning on disobeying him. “You’ll have me to answer to!”

____

“Ugh, did you see that?” Louis grumbled as he and Harry walked onto the school playground, to head to the cafeteria. “The way bloody Malik was kissing the Niall-dude’s ass?”

Harry laughed as he slung his arm around Louis’ shoulders.

“Jealous Lou?”

“No!” Louis cried. It was clear to everyone that Louis had the biggest crush on the young, Alpha art teacher. However, everyone knew that he never actually had plans to go after him. It was a joke between him and Harry, right from Year 11 (when the young teacher had been appointed their tutor) that Louis was after him; it had never gone away and it was a constant 24/7 thing now. “I just… did you see the way they connected as soon as they met?”

“Lou, everyone did,” Harry smiled down at the shorter Omega. “Mates.”

“True mates Harry! TRUE mates!” Louis’ arms flew into the air as if to prove his point and then slammed with a sharp slap to his thighs. “I had to fucking sit next to blondie and his fucking arousal!”

“Dude, you suffered an Omega’s arousal; do anything for you?”

“No,” Louis shuddered. “You know I only dig Alpha’s!”

“I’ve never met an Omega who doesn’t,” Harry added to their conversation. “But I had to sit through the bloody rest of tutor time – with a fucking hard-on!”

Louis’ eyes widened.

“Now I wish _I_ was sat at the front.”

“Ugh, you bloody don’t!” Harry groaned as he sat at a table in the cafeteria, dumping his rucksack underneath the light blue table top. “His bloody Alpha arousal – you would have been jumping on him!”

“Bloody lucky git,” Louis grumbled. “And the asshole had the nerve to split us up. Don’t think I can make it through the year without you Hazza.”

“You’re such a whore Louis!” Harry laughed. “Just a minute ago you wanted Mr Malik!”

“Shut up!”

____

Zayn sat in the staff room. His sandwiches, which had been sat in front of him for the whole lunch hour, were untouched. His eyes never lifted from them, his ears blocking out the idle chit-chat of the relatively older teachers. Some of them had tried to talk to him, but he’d not been much of a talker and they’d basically been left to their own devices.

“Ugh,” Liam, a maths teacher who was just a year older than Zayn, plonked himself down beside Zayn. “I am dreading when my year 9’s reach year 13.”

Zayn looked up, knowing that Liam was referring to his own tutor group, and Zayn’s tutor group.

Liam and Zayn had gone to the same university, and just out of coincidence had applied for teaching positions at Thornton Academy. They had always been really good friends, but working together had just seemed to have brought them closer together. When thy had started, both of them had been informed they would be personal tutors; Liam had been given a brand new set of students who had just entered Year 7, while Zayn had been cucked in at the deep end with the Year 11 class. Liam was always comparing his younger students to Zayn’s older ones.

“Why?”

“The sass that comes out of some of their mouths,” Liam shook his head. “And you would have thought you could have trusted them to sit next to who ever the hell they wanted to and not cause distractions – apparently not!”

“Harry and Louis?” Zayn guessed, with a lazy raise of an eyebrow.

“Damn straight!” Liam reached forward and helped himself to one of Zayn’s sandwiches, with a quick thank you. “Had to split them up in the end… it’s like they took all the same A-levels.”

“Harry wanted to leave in Year 11,” Zayn explained. “But his Mum made him stay on; so he took whatever classes Louis did.”

“Bloody typical. He’ll regret that later in life,” Liam grumbled around a mouthful of bread and cheese.

Zayn sighed through his nose and cast his eyes down to his big, fancy watch on his wrist. 20 minutes until afternoon registration; 20 minutes until he could see his mate again – with that dirty blonde hair and blue eyes… and his scent. Even thinking about it had him hardening. He shifted his legs slightly, hoping to hide it.

“Where’ve you been all lunch?” Zayn asked, changing the subject. Perhaps if he didn’t think of his mate’s beauty, he wouldn’t get too aroused.

“Sleeping,” Liam answered truthfully. “It was those bloody year 13’s that exhausted me! It’s like they’re not serious enough about their future… like they can’t grasp that this is the last chance they have to make a good impression.”

“I tried,” Zayn explained. “I just gotta work out how to drum it into their brains.”

“Eh, it’s not just you mate – Suzie over there’s got a group of them, and Maisie.”

“But my group are the best, right?” Zayn whispered, leaning closer to Liam so that the other Alpha could hear him.

Liam looked at him with his teacher-look, which caused Zayn to shrug in exactly the same way he knew one of his students would.

Their conversation moved on and Liam ended up asking Zayn wasn’t eating – and why his scent was dipped in arousal.

“Fuck,” Zayn lifted his arms, to sniff at himself. “Really?!” He cried in despair. “That’s just what I need!”

“Zayn, mate, calm down,” Liam chuckled quietly. “It’s barely noticeable. But sitting so close to you,” Liam wriggled his eyebrows. Normally Zayn would have reacted in some loved-up way, but now he just shuddered. Liam noticed. “Are you okay?”

Zayn’s head titled back and he groaned.

“No.”

“What’s…”

“I don’t know what to do Li.”

“Do about what?”

“New student.”

“Oh yeah! What’s his name – Neil?”

“Niall,” Zayn corrected hurriedly. He had absolutely _not_ spent ages looking at the boy’s name on the register.

“You his tutor?”

“I’m bloody more than that Liam!” Zayn wailed, his hands running down his face.

“Zayn…” Liam seemed to have got what he was saying. “Is he your…?”

Zayn looked around quickly before reaching for his mini notepad that he kept in his pocket, so that he could write down ideas for art work when they came to him. He ripped the pencil from its holder and wrote quickly. He then shoved the notepad under Liam’s nose.

_He’s my true mate._

Liam looked up at Zayn, eyes wide.

“Fuck.”

____

Niall had been restless all day. He wanted to be with the Alpha teacher who was his mate. He’d been waiting on afternoon registration ever since break time. Niall had not been able to concentrate at all and barely even remembered what lessons he had been in so far, let alone remember the class, teacher and what had actually been taught.

So, arriving at his tutor room had been a relief. 20 minutes of pure Alpha goodness.

The man’s voice was beautiful, and Niall was sure that he could fall asleep to it, easily. He knew that it would be the only one that would ever be able to get through to him from now on. The way the man twitched as he observed the room – eyes resting on Niall for longer than was necessary.

Niall wasn’t sure what Mr Malik talked about, just that his voice was heavenly and that his body was a god’s. Niall squirmed in his seat as he could feel the slick beginning to trickle slowly from his hole.

The bell went to signal the start of the last two lessons. Mr Malik stood up as everyone started to pack away.

“Niall, can I see you for a moment please?” He called loudly.

Louis stood, patting Niall on the shoulder.

“Good luck mate – if I don’t see you next lesson, I’ll make sure that your gravestone reads _‘Death by Malik’_. Ugh, what a way to go!”

And just like that, he met Harry at the front of the class and they left, starting up talk straight away.

When Niall was the only student left in the classroom, he slung his rucksack over his shoulder and made his way to the front of the class. He stopped when he got to the side of the teachers desk. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t nervous; his heart beat had increased and his breathing had caught in his throat.

Mr Malik took the couple of steps towards Niall, towering over him.

“Hi,” Mr Malik mumbled, a love-filled smile on his face. “It’s nice to finally meet you, properly.” He slowly reached out, as if scared Niall was going to pull away from him.

Niall gulped, taking a cautious step forward.

Mr Malik took Niall’s hand in his own and gently pulled both of their arms up half way. They fit perfectly together.

“I’m Zayn,” He continued on his smooth, love-struck tone. “But don’t tell anyone else that.”

Niall swallowed again, before opening his mouth to speak. It took the words time to actually make their appearance. And when they did, Niall was sure they had a mind of their own; if he was thinking straight, there was no way that he would have ever said that.

“You’re hot.”

Zayn chuckled lowly.

“So are you.”

And the next thing Niall knew, he was pushed back against a display board, his rucksack falling to his feet. Zayn’s lips were rough and passionate on Niall’s, claiming every inch of them as their own. Zayn’s hands held Niall’s face closer to his and their bodies were pressed tightly together.

Niall wasn’t sure what to do with his hands. He had never been kissed like this before, he didn’t know what to do. He knew that both he and his mate were hard, their lengths brushing together with the minimal moment that was being made. He knew that his ass was leaking slick and that the room was full of the scent of their arousal.

“If I didn’t have a class to teach – I would bend you over my desk and fuck you senseless,” Zayn growled, deep in his throat, as he pulled out of the kiss.

“Please,” Niall whispered – clearly all hot-and-bothered.

Both of them were breathing deeply as they tried to ground themselves again.

“But I do have a class; and you’ve got English.”

“No,” Niall whined, not liking the reminder of his college work.

“Yes,” Zayn smirked, loving how needy Niall sounded. Zayn could smell the slick in Niall’s pants and that was the one of the main signs that his Omega wanted him – needed him.

“Can I come back after school?” Niall asked, resting his head against Zayn’s shoulder.

“Baby, you can come back any time.”

Niall walked out of the class room, past the group of year 10’s waiting outside for their art lesson. His cheeks were deep red, his breathing fast, and lips swollen; it was very clear what had gone on within the classroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a side note;  
> I don't know if you have noticed, but I put gifs at the beginning of each chapter!! It would be great if you have a favourite Ziall gif that you could send me the link of!! If I like it, I shall include it!!  
> Feedback is appreciated!!  
> xxRiverMagicxx


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zayn and Niall receive some disheartening news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go!! I am slowly working my way through these stories!!  
> Also, i'd like to wish Zayn some love and support through whatever he's going through!! We love you Zaynie!! xx

** Chapter 3 **

Zayn dismissed his students as soon as the bell rang, wanting to see Niall as soon as possible. He was already head over heels for the blonde Omega and he wanted nothing more than to claim him as his own and treat him like the little Prince he was.

Finding your true mate was possibly the rarest thing that could happen to you in your life – you literally had more chance of winning the lottery twice in your life than finding your true mate. Many people travelled the world as soon as they came of mating age, in hopes to find that special someone. Not many did. It was sad really, but most people accepted it and looked for the next best thing. Zayn was preparing to do just that, but he had not been counting on his true mate to walk through the doors of his classroom and declare himself as a new student; nope – that had totally been out of the blue.

But to say Zayn wasn’t over the moon by it would be a lie. Zayn hadn’t even been looking for his true mate, and the blonde Irish Omega just popped right up, under his nose. Zayn already loved him and already wanted to spoil him rotten.

He tried to busy himself with putting things away, while he waited for Niall to return – hoping that the blonde hadn’t forgotten about him already. New art books that were barely used were stacked away on shelves, he ran a damp cloth around the tables and made sure the pencils were put back into their correct coloured slot. But still, Niall did not appear.

It wasn’t until he was sitting down behind his desk and pulling his mobile out of his pocket that there was a small knock at the door. It had grabbed his attention, and he sat up straight. But he knew, from the moment the knock sounded around the room – it wasn’t Niall. There was no luscious scent behind the door, like earlier in the day. Instead, the muskier, older, Alpha scent of the Head Teacher.

“Come in,” Zayn called loudly, trying to not portray his disappointment in his tone.

The door creaked open silently, and Mark stepped through.

“Good first day back?” Mark asked with a small smile, pushing himself up and sitting himself on top of one of the front desks – one of the things that he would discourage if there were students around.

“Yeah, it was alright,” Zayn fought real hard to hide his full-blown smile. Of course today was fantastic – due to meeting a certain blonde haired Omega.

“The rumours are already spreading, you know,” Mark made casual conversation as he swung his legs back and forth.

“What?” Zayn knew, subconsciously, what Mark was talking about. But he didn’t want to accept it.

“I know the new kid, Niall, is your true mate.”

“Shit!” Zayn cursed, head falling into his hands. “Really?”

“Oh, come on Zayn,” Mark laughed slightly. “I knew as soon as I walked through the door with the boy this morning… I saw the way you two connected, the way you’re eyes met and the metaphorical sparks were almost so real that I could near as damn see them!”

“You’re…” Zayn stopped. Mark’s tone had been exasperated, but light. Zayn didn’t know what exactly he’d been expecting from any teacher who found out – but he was expecting some kind of negative response. This… Mark’s response was anything but negative. “You’re not mad?”

“Mad?!” Mark cried, outraged. “Zayn – you’ve found your mate! You’re true mate! Not even I’ve done that! Sure, I’ve been mated to Jay for little over 10 years now, and that our relationship started a couple years before we had Louis – which okay, that’s a long time… but, never… never have I met my true mate. And I have no idea what that feels like – but I’m pretty sure that I can recognise when true mates meet each other for the first time,” Mark paused, smiling kindly over at the other Alpha. “Everyone deserves to be with someone special – and you’ve found someone who is extremely special. Don’t you let go of him!”

“You… you really mean that?”

“Zayn,” Mark sighed. “You’re a good guy, and I don’t think I know anyone who could deserve this more than you.”

“Thanks Mark,” Zayn let out a huge sigh, relief flooding through him.

“However, I come baring bad news.”

Zayn froze up again. He didn’t really want to hear whatever it was. Niall was sure to be by any moment – could the bad news wait 24 hours?

“You know that teacher, student relationships are against school policy.”

Zayn fell back into his seat, eyes closing tightly and a frown sculpting itself on his face. He knew where this was going.

“I would gladly let you be in a relationship – to mate even. But… I have to make sure everything is kept by the rules, and I don’t want word getting out either… I don’t want either of you to get caught. And the only way to make sure that happens is to…”

“Not have a relationship at all,” Zayn whispered when Mark fell silent.

“I’m really sorry Zayn, truly – I am. I don’t want to be the one to prevent you from being with your true mate… but, it’s best for everyone.”

Zayn didn’t reply for a moment, only staring at the far wall ahead of him. He felt like crying, really he did. It was silly because he’d just met the boy and barely knew him, he shouldn’t have such strong feelings for him. But, it was just the way it was. If you were lucky enough to meet your true mate, you felt as if you’d known them and loved them your whole life – even if you had only just met.

Zayn already knew that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Niall – if that’s what Niall wanted. He already knew that he was going to spoil Niall rotten, that he was going to love Niall with every inch of his being. But here Mark was, basically telling him that he couldn’t do that for at least a year yet.

He couldn’t bring himself to say anything.

“As soon as Niall graduates,” Mark continued. “You can mate and start your relationship as soon as Niall graduates.”

Zayn still didn’t say anything, gulping down the tears that were caught in the back of his throat. He didn’t look over when Mark stood from the table.

“I really am, truly sorry. If there was any other way around it – I would offer you it.” Mark placed a sorrowful hand on Zayn’s shoulder, patting once or twice before apologising again and slowly walking out the door. There was nothing more to say, and he knew that Zayn was not going to confine in him in anyway.

Zayn sat in his desk chair for a moment longer, before grabbing the closest thing to his left (which just so happened to be a white board pen) and threw it across the room, where it slammed into the wall and fell to the floor with its cap off.

Then he let his head fall against the desk with a dry sob, not knowing how to tell Niall that they had to wait to be together.

____

Niall was running late, having got talking to his English teacher, Mrs Davidson. She had wanted to know a little about Niall, apparently he had been hot topic around the teachers simply because of his high money status. Mrs Davidson had asked him plenty of questions, eager to know why he’d joined the school so late in his school life, and had talked a lot about herself. Niall hadn’t really fancied a chat, but he didn’t want to be rude and cut their conversation short. When Mrs Davidson had realised how long she’d kept Niall, she’d dismissed him quickly, apologising profusely for keeping him.

Niall had wanted to run to his new tutor room, to see his tutor again – but he knew he could barely remember the way to the exit, let alone know his way around the place. He had a certain knowledge of his way round, and knew what to look for, to know that when he was close to his tutor room.

There was the large sign to the art corridor that had Niall knowing he was going in the right direction. In just a couple of turns, he was in the art corridor and was engulfed in the luscious scent of Mr Malik – or Zayn as he’d introduced himself as.

“Good afternoon Niall,” Mr Tomlinson spoke kindly, as Niall approached the classroom.

Niall tried not to look suspicious, smiling kindly at the head teacher as he passed. Niall did not fail to notice that Mr Tomlinson was just leaving Zayn’s classroom.

“Good afternoon Sir,” He greeted politely, slowing his hasty work, so not to look too eager either.

Mr Tomlinson carried on, his smile dropping as soon as Niall had passed him. He glanced back quickly with a sorry face – Niall looked genuinely happy, and Mark knew why – Mark also knew that Niall was going to be crushed in minutes. He didn’t stop walking, turning the corner and leaving the art corridor.

Niall didn’t even knock on the door, entering happily – and maybe too eagerly.

He was surprised to find Zayn deflated with his head on his desk.

“Mr… Zayn?” Niall stumbled over the Alpha’s name as he took a step forward into the room. “Are you okay?”

“Niall,” Zayn sat up slowly, turning to look at his Omega. Niall could not miss Zayn’s expression – sad, heartbroken, glum and distressed.

“What’s wrong?”

“Mr Tomlinson…” Zayn paused, pondering how to approach the subject. “He – he basically… told me – he basically told me that we can’t… we can’t…”

Zayn seemed to be struggling with his words, but it didn’t take a genius to work out what he was trying to say.

“What?” Niall whispered softly, hurt by what Zayn was attempting to say.

Zayn stood up slowly.

“I’m sorry Niall – we can’t have a relationship while you’re still at school here; it’s against school policy for us to be together.”

“No!” Niall felt his own tears welling up. “Please.”

“Niall,” Zayn stepped towards him, closing the gap between them.

“It’s alright, isn’t it,” Niall shrugged, trying not to sound disappointed. “11 months – it’s not that long, right?”

“It’s too long,” Zayn tried to reason, bringing a tanned hand to a pale cheek. “I barely know you, but you are already my world; 11 months is too long.”

Niall closed his eyes, biting his lip.

“I am so sorry – but you must understand; Mr Tomlinson supports our true-mate status… but he has to abide by the school rules.”

Niall nodded, loving the feeling of Zayn’s hand against his.

“You be the student, I’ll be the teacher. And then, come August… if you’ll still have me, we can think about mating.”

Niall opened his eyes, hand reaching up to Zayn’s, clutching to it as if it was going to disappear at any moment.

“I want to mate with you now – I know I will still want you in 11 months,” Niall mumbled, trying to sound encouraging.

Zayn leant forward and pressed a soft kiss to Niall’s cheek. It was quick, but sensitive and transferred all the love that Zayn was feeling.

“You’re so tempting,” He whispered quietly in Niall’s ear. “I don’t know whether I’ll be able to wait 11 months.”

Niall and Zayn sat in the classroom and talked for about 40 minutes, until the cleaners started to come round and Zayn put his teacher face on to tell Niall to head home. As he was leaving, Niall turned back to wave silently to the Alpha, and Zayn winked at him as he fondly watch Niall leave the room.

Zayn knew that it would be a while before they could have a moment like that between just themselves – tomorrow Niall would be just another student in his classroom. Zayn hated that the only relationship that he could have with Niall was a teacher, student one.

The next 11 months were going to pass agonisingly slow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to work out (not necessarily for this story though) whether to have a side of Steeran (Ed Sheeran x Harry Styles) or Gryles (Nick Grimshaw x Harry Styles) or even (THANKS FOR THE SUGGESTION ANONYMOUSE) Jarry (Josh Cuthbert X Harry Styles)  
> So, let me know which pairing you prefer - Steeran V Gryles V Jarry!!  
> Thank you for sticking with me guys!! And thank you for reading, commenting and expressing your love in kudos, bookmarks and by subscribing!! It means so much to me and i know that I wouldn't have got nearly as far as I have without all of your support!!  
> Feedback is appreciated!!  
> xxRiverMagicxx


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before school on Tuesday morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well, well, well. Hello!! Gosh it's been FOREVER since I even thought about this story!! But for some strange reason i had a dream about it last night and I've been working on this chapter since i got up this morning at 8:30!! I've done lots of background planning as well (which isn't all included in this chapter, but you'll get to know it eventually). This chapter isn't overly long, but where I ended it seemed a good place to end it.  
> Thank you for all being so patient with me!!  
> Love you all!!

** Chapter 4 **

Niall woke the next morning, a whole 30 minutes before his alarm went off. An unusual silence surrounded the house, and Niall knew that he was the first one awake; another bizarre happening. He knew instantly, why he was awake; it was Tuesday… another school day! And that meant that he could see his _(very hot, and very, very sexy)_ tutor again; he couldn’t wait.

He rushed out of bed and spent his extra 30 minutes showering and almost pampering himself, so that he smelt delicious and good enough to eat. He’d decided that while they may not be allowed to be together while Niall was at school, he could still make himself presentable and absolutely stunning so to tease his future Alpha mate. He made sure to dig through the cardboard boxes that still weren’t unpacked, to find his best hair gel so that he style his hair carefully, in a way he hoped the Alpha teacher would like. And he made sure that there were no creases in his uniform before he dressed.

When he finally stumbled downstairs, his Aunt Cara looked up at his wide eyed, her mouth hanging open.

“Good morning?” She asked uncertainly.

“Morning,” Niall replied, smirking at her shocked greeting.

Niall moved around her to make himself a small bowl of cereal. He had to reach into a smaller cardboard box that was pushed up against the wall on the side to get a bowl and the cutlery he would need. He knew he’d eat the cereal _and_ then also a full plate of the fried breakfast that his Aunt was currently cooking. Cara’s eyes followed his every move, and once he was sat down at the island table, she finally spoke up.

“Are you feeling okay?” She asked seriously.

Niall paused, looking up at her over his bowl of Coco-pops. He furrowed his eyebrows uncertainly.

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Niall – it’s 7:30. Normally you’ve slept through your first alarm _and_ your second alarm and by now your brother is normally dragging you out of bed by your ankles!”

“Oh, come on Aunt Cara,” Niall sighed overexaggerated. “No, he isn’t. By now he’s usually shoving me under the shower and soaking me in freezing cold water.”

“Yeah; well, you would think that would teach you to get up when your alarm rings,” She mumbled mainly to herself as she turned back to the stove with a fond smile on her face. Niall smirked too and went back to eating his cereal. Cara loved her nephew, love him as if he was her own, but that didn’t make up for the fact that he was awake and ready for school so much earlier than normal.

Just as Niall was washing up his cereal bowl in the sink _(“For goodness sake Niall! Just because we’ve got a bit of money doesn’t mean that you can get away with doing nothing all day!” “Shut up Greg! I’m 18!” “18, and still an Omega in my care. Now get off your arse and do the laundry please, like I’ve asked you to a total of 8 times now!”)_ his Alpha brother, Greg, walked into the kitchen, looking around almost frantically. His eyes fell on Niall as he was placing his bowl on the draining board, ready to go into the dishwasher to be washed properly after breakfast was finished.

“Bloody hell!” Greg stormed across the floor towards his brother and roughly pulled him into his chest, wrapping his arms around the smaller lad’s frame. He closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths to reassure himself that Niall was actually there.

“Morning to you to, Greggers,” Niall grumbled, voice muffled from where his face was pushed into his older brother’s shoulder.

Greg finally pulled back, holding onto Niall’s shoulders as he looked at the Omega carefully.

“Don’t do that again!” He warned.

“What?” Niall furrowed his eyebrows. “I didn’t do anything wrong!”

“You weren’t in your room when I went to wake you up, Niall,” Greg explained. And now, Niall understood why Greg was a little upset about that. “I thought you might have taken an unannounced day-trip again and that I was going to have to spend all day looking for you!”

Niall had a tendency to just get up and wander out the front door whenever he damn well please; but he tended to do this when everyone else was in bed so that no one would be able to stop him. He always told his brother that he had just wanted to get out for the day and go on a ‘day-trip’; when in actual fact, he often got out for the day because everything was becoming too overwhelming and he just needed a time out away from everything.

Last time he’d gotten out of the house without his brother or his Aunt knowing, the police had gotten involved. That was his fault, he wondered further than he normally did, and ended up being gone 3 days (almost 4!) and Greg was starting to worry that something had happened to him. Those 3 days had earned him a 3-month grounding sentence.

“Is leaving my room before you come to wake me up a crime now?” Niall asked sarcastically, pushing his brother (and, technically, his current Alpha) away. He plopped himself back on his seat at the table and didn’t look in his brother’s direction.

“No, it isn’t,” Greg explained, eyes trained on Niall. “It’s just never happened before, which is why I started to worry.”

Niall huffed, and opened his mouth to say something, but Aunt Cara cut across him.

“Stop it boys, come on. Niall, listen to your brother please. He was just worried, and needed to know you were okay. I was shocked when you came downstairs early too, remember?”

Niall’s eyes formed into slits as he frowned at his Aunt. She always sided with his stupid Alpha brother.

“Oh, stop it,” The woman dismissed with a wave of her spatula. She wasn’t affected by the look her nephew was sending her, used to a lot worse after looking after the boy for 10 years. She went back to flipping the bacon, turning her back on the two boys that she had adopted as her own.

Greg had calmed down somewhat now, and sent an apologetic smile to his brother, silently admitting that perhaps he’d overreacted a little. Niall replied by raising his eyebrows and whipping his phone out. He hadn’t ever really made friends back in Ireland, and hadn’t yet connected with anyone in London; so, he wasn’t surprised when there were no notifications telling him that someone was trying to get into contact with him. He didn’t really care and opened up his Facebook, to scroll through a load of emotional crap people had posted.

“Morning Aunt Cara,” Greg finally greeted, moving in to give her a quick, chaste kiss on the cheek.

“Morning hunny,” Cara replied, smiling at her eldest nephew as the Alpha moved about the kitchen, looking in all the boxed to find the plates and cutlery. “Hungry?”

“Starving” He explained, placing what he’d gather on the table in front of Niall. “You, young man, can set the table.”

“What?” Niall argued, head popping up from his phone. “Why?”

“Because you’re not doing anything, and because I asked you to,” Greg stated, as if his say was final. And it was – Greg was the only Alpha of the house, and since moving their new place was in his name… that kind of made him the Alpha of the house. That and also, Greg was the only Alpha guardian he had ever had after they had been reunited by their Aunt after moving from so many different foster homes at the age of 8… by law Greg was his Alpha and would be until he mated.

“And you wonder why I stay in bed so late,” Niall scoffed, stuffing his phone back in his pocket as he stood up and started setting up three different spaces at the table.

Greg laughed at his little brother, but didn’t respond. He turned back to help Aunt Cara bring over the different dishes of food as she finished serving them up.

“Why are you up anyway?” Greg asked lightly, what had happened a few minutes ago, completely forgotten. “Aren’t you normally just about crawling out of the shower?”

“I’m just…” Niall did NOT want to admit to his Alpha brother that he had met his true mate. Oh gosh, no! “I’ve decided that I’m going to treat this school year differently that the last couple.” It wasn’t the complete truth, but there were aspects of that statement that were true.

The Beta woman and the Alpha shared a weary look; Cara shook her head in almost disbelief and Greg chuckled before addressing Niall again.

“You couldn’t have decided that 4 years ago?”

“Nope,” Niall shook his head confidently, as he started to pile his plate high with bacon, eggs and sausages. The two others in the room sat down opposite him and began helping themselves and soon they were all tucking into their breakfasts. For a minute or two, the only sound that filled the room was the scraping of knife’s and forks on the plates and the sipping of coffee.

“So,” Greg asked, as he helped himself to another sausage. Niall looked up at the sound of his voice. “Why the sudden change of heart?”

“About school?” Niall questioned, although he knew that this is what his brother was asking him. Greg nodded his head. “I dunno… I just… really enjoyed it yesterday.”

“Oh my gosh!” Cara gasped, over dramatically. “Excuse me – who are you and what have you done with my baby?” She looked over to the eldest Horan. “Greg – did Niall just say he found a school he enjoys going to? Or is my hearing deceiving me?”

“I heard it too.” Greg played along with a slight smirk. “If it’s true, does this mean that Niall isn’t going to try and get himself killed this year?”

“Or worse…” Cara gasped. “Expelled!”

“Alright you two,” Niall scolded lightly. “I know I might have been expelled from my last school…”

“Last 3 schools,” Greg _helpfully_ corrected.

“Yes, _thank you_ Greg!” Niall sighed in mock frustration. “I might have been expelled from my last _three_ schools,” He gave Greg a pointed look. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t change my way. This is my last year of sixth-form; my last year before university. I need to make it count!”

Cara and Greg stared at him from across the table, both wide-eyed at the confession that Niall had just graced them with.

“Is this really happening Ni, baby?” Cara asked. “You’re not messing about?”

“I’m not messing about Aunt Cara,” Niall promised. “I’m going to be on my best behaviour and work my hardest to get my grades up. There will be no slacking from this Omega!”

~ YS ~

Zayn sat in his classroom, watching the clock strike closer to 9am, closer to the beginning of the day and closer to being able to see that gorgeous blonde Omega again.

He had barely been able to sleep last night, unable to stop the thoughts of Niall from running through his mind. Whenever he closed his eyes, he was immediately rewarded with a picture of the blonde, and while this was nice – he found it hard to sleep knowing that the younger boy wasn’t there in bed with him, snuggled up close.

There was a polite knock at his classroom door, and Zayn juddered out of his somewhat-trance, blinking his vision clear as he turned towards the intruder.

“Morning,” Liam called in greeting, his head popping around the door. “Mind if I come in a minute?”

Zayn didn’t say anything; he just nodded his head towards the centre of the room, welcoming his fellow Alpha in.

“Zayn?” Liam waited, wanting a response from the art teacher to know that he was listening.

Zayn only hummed in reply, his eyes glancing quickly over the clock on the wall before focusing back on Liam.

“Zayn; it’s only 8. It’s so not like you to be in the classroom this early.”

“I know,” Zayn let out a huge sigh. “I just… everyone knows now. They keep asking me about it and I can’t help but feel like they’re all looking and judging me.”

“Judging you?” Liam hopped onto the front row table, swinging his legs as he spoke seriously with his best friend. “Mate, what are they judging you about? You’ve found your mate! Your _true_ mate!”

Zayn scoffed and crossed his arms. “Yeah, my _true_ mate, who just so happens to be a student. Of course they’re not judging!” His voice was laced with high levels of sarcasm.

“So? He’s a student.” Liam shrugged, as he attempted to bring Zayn round on the matter. “I swear to you, on your mate’s life, that no teacher is judging you on the fact that he is a student.”

Zayn glanced up at Liam, completely unsure.

“I swear Zayn! No one is judging! If anything, everyone is looking at you I awe! They all want to know how you’ve done it; they want to know how you’ve found your true mate so bloody easily. It is so rare for it to happen accidentally!”

Zayn smiled lightly, unable to stop himself. He had been so lucky; he couldn’t quite believe it. Liam was right – barely anyone found their true mates these days, and when they did it was only because they had gone looking for them. To just stumble across your true mate so accidentally, like Zayn and Niall had, was so rare that it had almost become a whispered legend told around campfires.

Liam smiled at the pure happiness on his friend’s face. However, he had another matter to address.

“But,” Liam called Zayn’s attention back to him. “I know why you’re really hiding away in here.”

“I’m not hiding,” Zayn defended, frowning again.

“Okay. Not hiding; waiting. I know why you’re waiting in here.”

“Do you?”

“Yes, I do,” Liam explained confidently. “You’re waiting for him.”

“And?” Zayn shrugged.

“And I think that’s lovely Zee. I really do! But it’s only 8. School doesn’t start for another hour. Come on, come sit in the staff room for a bit.”

It took a little convincing, but soon, Zayn was sat on one of the lumpy staff room chairs with a cup of coffee in his hand and his friend sat next to him.

“I wanted to congratulate you,” Liam spoke up after he took a sip of his own drink.

“Thanks,” Zayn smiled, casting his friend a side glance.

“No, like properly congratulate you.”

Liam leaned forward and placed his cup of the coffee table in front of him. They weren’t really paying any attention to any of the other staff members around them. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a tiny box, wrapped in blue and silver striped wrapping paper with a silver bow tied perfectly on the top.

“Liam?” Zayn asked wearily. He sat up a little straighter and copied Liam’s actions, placing his mug on the table in front of him. “You’re not serious, are you?” Zayn had a good inkling to what was in the box.

Liam just smiled, held out the package and spoke quietly. “Congratulations.”

Zayn cautiously took the small gift, and gently pulled at the silver ribbon, neatly untying the bow. He pulled the tabs of paper up and pulled out a small, black box.

It was an old tradition that the friends and family of the to-be mated couple would each get a gift for the Alpha and the Omega. It was even more traditional if the pair were true mates with set gifts that each family member gave – for example, Niall’s first collar would be his Omega parent’s first one. The traditional gift given to the Alpha from his best friend was a little different.

Inside the box, were a set of cufflinks. The Alpha and Omega symbols were overlapping each other on each cufflink. But, the box was a little too big to be just for the cufflinks.

“Lift the tab,” Liam offered helpfully, once Zayn had got a proper look at them.

Zayn followed his friend’s instructions, and when he pulled the little tab, he was surprised to find it opened up to a different compartment. Sat snugly hidden underneath the cufflinks was a collar tag, with exactly the same design.

Zayn looked up at his best friend and suddenly hugged the Alpha tightly.

“Thank you!” He whispered into Liam’s ear. “Thank you so much!”

**Author's Note:**

> FOLLOW FOR UPDATES;  
> TUMBLR; http://xxwildmagicxx.tumblr.com/


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